Becoming a pharmacy technician can be a rewarding career choice. This field has good career prospects, monetary benefits, and rewards. They help licensed pharmacists provide health care products and medications to patients. They routinely prepare prescription medications for patients; for example, by counting the tablets and putting labels on the bottles. They refer questions about medication information, prescriptions, or health issues to the pharmacist.
Certificate
A National Certification Examination, conducted by the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, which is held at various examination centers nationwide, must be passed to become a Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT). Candidates are required to have a high school diploma/GED, and must not have any felony records. Once qualified, they need to be recertified every two years.
The eligibility criteria for recertification is the completion of twenty pharmacy-related contact hours within the two-year certification period. Conference attendance, college coursework, and on-the-job training count toward contact hours. It is mandatory to have a minimum of one contact hour in pharmacy law. Flexibility allows you to get contact hours from different sources. Up to ten contact hours can be gained by working under the direct supervision of a pharmacist.
Other sources are attending pharmacy schools, membership in pharmacy associations, and training programs. Currently, however, there is no federal requirement for formal training and certification, although there may be some states that do. Many employers provide people with on-the-job training and hire them as pharmacy technicians.
As confidence in their profession grows, more states and employers are requiring these technicians to have formal education and certification. Many employers offer to reimburse the cost of the exam as an incentive. The military and some hospitals offer formal education programs. Private schools, community colleges, and vocational or technical colleges also offer educational programs.
Place and nature of work
They typically work in hospitals, general medical and surgical stores, health and personal care stores, and retail or mail-order pharmacies. Your job responsibilities differ accordingly and are dependent on applicable laws and other state regulatory mandates. They receive written prescriptions and requests from patients for prescription refills. A doctor’s office can also send a prescription electronically.
The pharmacy technician has to verify the information on the prescription, for completeness and accuracy. Prescription preparation requires them to retrieve, count, pour, measure, weigh, and sometimes mix the required medication. They have to select the type of prescription container, and create and affix the labels on it. After it’s filled, they quote the prescription and file it. The pharmacist then checks this before giving it to the patient. They may be required to prepare insurance claim forms, maintain patient profiles, and inventory over-the-counter prescription drugs.
They must be aware of the latest medications and their availability. Sometimes they also need to advise the patient on diet and health requirements. Based on available records for 2004, pharmacy technicians earned a median hourly wage of $11.37. The highest figure was $16.61 and the lowest $7.96.
A career as a pharmacy technician can be pursued even without formal certification in most states, and it allows for work in clean and organized work areas. It offers a reasonably good salary and benefits package.
